Sometimes I wonder how Gen-Xers – the generation that didn’t give a crap – turned into helicopter parents. This is probably giving the power of cinema a little too much credit, but maybe it’s because of the first five “Final Destination” films (2000-11). In the most popular horror series about Death as a perpetual stalker since “The Omen,” every object within your range of sight is a potentially fatal weapon in the Rube Goldberg device of our existence. This likely becomes scarier with toddlers wobbling around the house.
This saga’s characters are cursed, and the sixth entry, “Final Destination: Bloodlines,” seemingly would be cursed too. It’s a small sample size, certainly, but the even-numbered films had been the bad ones. “Bloodlines” breaks the curse; this is an attention-holding, suspenseful flick with good characters.
Breaking the curse
In that sense, the team of two directors and three writers (all new to the saga) copy the winning formula from chapters 1, 3 and 5. “Bloodlines” introduces several characters we like and fear for, starting with a magnificently grand cold opening starring two actors from this cast of mostly unknowns who you might recognize: Brec Bassinger (“Stargirl”) and Max Lloyd-Jones (“The Irrational”).
“Final Destination: Bloodlines” (2025)
Directors: Zach Lipovsky, Adam B. Stein
Writers: Guy Busick, Lori Evans Taylor, Jon Watts
Stars: Kaitlyn Santa Juana, Teo Briones, Tony Todd
Yes, “Bloodlines” copies the idea of good characters, but it makes the story grander. People like to lazily throw around the term “reboot,” but this is a prequel and a sequel to the five-film saga. It expands the fear of death to a whole lifetime, perhaps even multiple lifetimes, passed down through generations.
Still, the newish idea of not announcing a story’s place in the timeline (something that adds a neat twist to part five) helps makes the opening sequence effective as 1960s lovebirds Iris (Bassinger) and Paul (Lloyd-Jones) visit the restaurant atop the Space Needle. Is this a true flashback, an alternate reality, or what?
As with all of the saga’s best sequences, it’s a mix of ominous hints of things that could go wrong; some of which simply build the mood, some of which will indeed be part of the bizarre sequence leading to slaughter, although not in the obvious way.
Foremost, “Bloodlines” is a worthy “FD” film is because the death sequences are suspenseful, creative and gory. Atop the podium is a sequence involving an MRI accidentally cranked to full magnetic power. Dark comedy encroaches on the vibe, but not enough to dislodge the “Hey, we all know it’s a movie” factor. “Bloodlines” winkingly makes use of a penny as the “butterfly flaps its wings” element; by the end, you might be glad they’re no longer minting the coins.
A respectful tribute to Todd
A rather neat thing about the “Final Destinations” – and perhaps the reason such grim material is almost fun – is that it doesn’t really matter whether a scene turns out to be a premonition or an actual event. When the premonator — in this entry, Stefani (Michelle Rodriguez lookalike Kaitlyn Santa Juana) – wakes up from her vision, it’s not a relief.
This is because it is so vivid: Stefani knows her grandmother Iris is the woman in the vision, despite never meeting her. And it’s partly because – after experiencing the initial subsequent demise of a loved one – she knows they are indeed visions of the future.
The team behind “Bloodlines” knows and respects the saga. The exposition from Bludworth (famous-voiced Tony Todd, in one of his final roles) is a bit clunky, as he notes that past Death-targets have attempted stealing the lifespan of another or dying and being revived. Another strategy is locking yourself away, as Clear (Ali Larter) did in a padded cell, but that doesn’t seem like much of a life.
“Bloodlines,” like the series’ other strong entries, flirts with being something more than it is; this one almost says something about the importance of living rather than existing. But not quite. That philosophy simply can’t resonate in the film’s world, where even premonitions can’t help people; they simply make them more terrified while trying to avoid the inevitable.
These movies aim to stay in a bizarre safe territory where we like the characters but still recognize this is a movie. They’re probably gonna be killed off, so we can’t get too attached. To its credit, this saga has not taken the “Scream” fork of the horror road and let people survive the most extreme attacks. The “Final Destinations” are a relief only in the sense that they are movies. “Bloodlines” is among the better ones, so I suppose that’s a relief, in a way.